Assessment Of The Wastewater Treatment Facilities In Oil Fields And Their Disposal In Ecuador

Abstract

This project analyses the feasibility of using of injection systems for reducing the discharge of produced water directly into Ecuadorian Amazon region. The human rights of the native inhabitants has been fighting and increasing the pressure on National Oil Company to reduce the actual pollution caused by produced water discharges, and reducing the risk for potential reduction of the inhabitant’s health. This analysis was managed taking into technical, economic, environmental, legal, social and management considerations, which are important tools to clarify ideas to project implementation and it successful. At the beginning of this document, it presents an technology used for treating produced water, and the basic theory to broke oil-water emulsions. For this project the regional characterization of the Ecuadorian Amazon Region (RAE) was necessary an exhaustive description. The produced water affected big areas in the Ecuadorian Amazon, specially groundwater and surface water. Thus, the geological characterization is necessary to understand the basic stratigraphy to reduce the possible impacts in the use of injection systems. The analysis of produced water production and the specific cases that affected the health and the problems on natives communities caused by oil exploitation in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The environmental economic analysis of the produced water estivate the cost of the clean final disposal treatment for produced water, and the possible inversion to change the technology in National Oil Company. The analysis of stakeholders and tools of environmental management systems complement the project to propose an alternative for the actual manage of final disposal of produced water.